Liberty Bell
by Always Brooke
Summary: What happens if Rory tells Logan about her trip to Philadelphia? One-Shot (Rated for language)


**Author's Note: Takes place after Super Cool Party People (6x20)**

It had been a crazy couple of weeks. First, they had broken up because of the bridesmaids, and then he apologized, she moved back in and he went on a trip. Kind of unbelievable how much could change in the course of a few hours.

She had been in Philadelphia when the call came; Logan was being airlifted to a hospital in New York, and what had she been doing? She had been kissing Jess. She had broken every speed limit to get to Logan, with a burning need to see him, to know that he was alive and well. Arriving at the hospital and not getting any information on him, until Paris had called, had been terrifying, having to put up with Finn and Colin and their antics, had been exhausting and seeing him lying on the bed unconscious, had broken her heart.

Now, two weeks after the horrible near death experience, she was driving him home from New York, to their beloved apartment in New Haven. She had almost lived in the hospital in those two weeks, only leaving to go to classes she couldn't afford to miss, had passed all her duties on the newspaper to Bill and made Paris promise to lend her notes later on. Logan had insisted she go back to New Haven, but she wasn't hearing any of it. Her guilty conscience made it impossible to leave him for a longer time period.

Taking care of him, made some of the guilt fade away, but she knew that as soon as they got back, she would tell him and deal with the consequences.

"Logan, can we talk?" she timidly asked him.

"Of course Ace, what's up?"

"I'm sorry."

"About what?" Logan asked, honestly surprised by her statement.

"About letting you go on this trip, I should have stopped you. I was just so busy being mad at you. I didn't think I was trying to punish you, but I was trying to punish you."

"No, Rory."

"I should have stopped you."

"Hey, you couldn't have stopped me. A team of psychiatrists with tranquilizer guns couldn't have stopped me. I was going no matter what. It's my fault. Do not feel guilty about this."

"I just sent you out that door; I didn't even care. I was so cold. I could have lost you."

"You didn't lose me."

"But I could've, though."

"Look, I'm the one screwing things up with us here not you. I'll get better, ok?"

"Logan," she paused, unsure of how to tell him, "you're not the only who screwed up," she admitted guiltily.

"What do you mean?"

"When you left for Costa Rica, I left for Philadelphia," she answered.

"Ok, so what?"

"I didn't go to look at the Liberty Bell..." she answered, unsure of how to continue, "I got an invitation to attend an open house for a small publishing house."

"That's nice," he replied, not sure what she wanted to tell him.

"One of the owners of the publishing house is Jess."

"Ace, please just say what you have to say, cause I'm not sure where this is going."

"I stayed until most guests had already left. And Jess and I got to talking. I told him about going back to Yale and about being proud about him, because of his book."

"Seems nice," he added as she paused.

"I don't think I ever told you this, but the only good thing about my relationship with Jess was the kisses, even when I was mad at him, his kisses made me melt. And when he kissed me that night in Philadelphia, I felt like puking. I was so mad at you and wanted to make you feel like I felt because of the bridesmaids and I couldn't even go through with it. One little kiss and I felt so freaking guilty. Afterwards I realized just how much I loved you, I was still mad at you, but I knew I loved you enough to forgive you, I mean really forgive you, for the bridesmaids. As I was sitting in my car after the kiss I thought about you and started to wonder how you did it, how you could sleep with all those girls," throughout her admission, she watched Logan's face closely, trying to figure out what he was thinking, "please say something."

"What do you want me to say, Rory?"

"Just tell me how," she pleaded.

"Ace… Rory," he corrected, and saw her wince. He only used her name when he was being serious, "when I left the pub that night, I was sure I would never hold you in my arms again and it fucking hurt. I went home and Honor's bridesmaids were there and they were offering themselves to me. I thought being with them would make me forget you, afterwards I realized how wrong I was. They only made me realize that nobody compares to you and that I love you and all those other girls didn't matter to me anymore."

"I guess I understand that," she started slowly, "can we come back from this?"

"I feel betrayed," he started slowly, "I understand why you did it, but it hurts. I thought we were broken up, when I had sex with those girls, I thought we were over. And you went to Philadelphia with the intention of betraying me. It's not the same."

"I know it's not," she answered guiltily, "but can we talk about it? Could you eventually forgive me?"

"I don't know Ace," he said, "I know you've finally forgiven me, but how long did it take you?"

"It wasn't the fact that you had sex that made it hard to forgive you, more so the fact that you didn't tell me about it and let me walk in there, without knowing. And yes, it took me a long time, but I realized I need and want you in my life," she replied, taking his hand in hers and giving it a light squeeze.

"And you confessing to your betrayal is supposed to make it easier for me to forgive you?"

"No, of course not Logan! I want to make you understand."

"Understand what?"

"My state of mind these last couple of weeks."

"Rory, you could have talked to me in the last couple of weeks, instead, you shut me out, completely. And now you're here begging for forgiveness."

"What can I do to prove to you that you're the one I want? Every time you look at me, I feel the butterflies in my stomach, when I'm in your arms I feel safe, my whole back tingles when you me and I see stars when you kiss me. I know, deep in my heart, that no other man will ever make me feel the same," she saw his gaze soften as she told him how she felt, "but do you feel the same?"

"Oh, Ace," he exclaimed as he kissed her forehead, "when I see you, my stomach does back flips, when I'm holding you, it's the only time I'm at gome, when we touch my fingers are on fire and when we kiss, Ace, you've never seen such beautiful fireworks," he replied, before he kissed her.

She knew that all their problems wouldn't go away overnight, but this was certainly a start, a very good start.

**Author's Note: Just a little something that went through my head when I saw the episode again. Hope you all liked it, and to the fans of How The Other Half Lives, I'm working on my next chapter, don't worry.**


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